Students reflect on "new dream" during MLK Commemorative celebration

The life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was remembered during Clayton State University’s second annual MLK Commemorative celebration. Students, faculty and staff gathered in the Student Activities Center to hear spoken word and song in honor of the Civil Rights pioneer.

The theme for the celebration was “The New Dream.

“This theme is a remembrance of the legacy that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has left us and how we as millennials can reinvent that for today's society,” said Ashley Kekula, Campus Event Council member and student coordinator of the event.

Those in attendance discussed what new dreams for racial equality could be realized in 2017 and what it would take to make those dreams happen. Some said it was important to be an active citizen in their communities, while others said breaking down racial barriers begins with love and understanding.

“The legacy that he’s known for and his work is really telling for today’s society especially in these times,” said Kiesha Johnson, a senior criminal justice major. “Right now is when we need to be leaning on his words.”

Johnson, who goes by her poet name TruthSpeakz, said the ideals of Dr. King reflect a vision to not only improve the lives of African Americans, but also to encourage individuals of all backgrounds to support each other for positive change.

“To me he was a very humble man, no matter what,” Johnson said.

Socoya Douglas, a senior liberal arts major and member of the Rho Lambda chapter of Sigma Ghamma Rho Sorority, Inc., said the issue of civil rights and social justice is one that all people can relate to and should fight for.

“At the end of the day it’s all about unity. We have to be able to support each other to make everybody great, to make ourselves great and to make our future generations great,” Douglas said. “We can’t let ourselves get lost.”